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Jupiter

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Ju⋅pi⋅ter

[joo-pi-ter]
–noun
1. Also called Jove. the supreme deity of the ancient Romans: the god of the heavens and of weather. Compare Zeus.
2. Astronomy. the planet fifth in order from the sun, having an equatorial diameter of 88,729 mi. (142,796 km), a mean distance from the sun of 483.6 million mi. (778.3 million km), a period of revolution of 11.86 years, and at least 14 moons. It is the largest planet in the solar system.
3. Military. a medium-range U.S. ballistic missile of the 1950s, powered by a single liquid-fueled rocket engine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Ju·pi·ter   (jōō'pĭ-tər)   
n.  
  1. Roman Mythology The supreme god, patron of the Roman state and brother and husband of Juno. He came to be identified with the Greek Zeus. Also called Jove.

  2. Astronomy The fifth planet from the sun, the largest and most massive in the solar system, having a sidereal period of revolution about the sun of 11.86 years at a mean distance of 778 million kilometers (483 million miles), a mean diameter of approximately 142,000 kilometers (88,000 miles), and a mass approximately 318 times that of Earth.


[Latin Iūpiter; see dyeu- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

Jupiter

The Roman name of Zeus, the most powerful of the gods of classical mythology.

Note: The fifth and largest planet from the sun (the Earth is third) is named Jupiter.

Jupiter

In astronomy, the largest planet in the solar system; the fifth major planet from the sun. Jupiter is largely composed of gases. It is named after the ruler of the Roman gods (see under “Mythology and Folklore”). Jupiter is visible from Earth.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Jupiter 
c.1205, "supreme deity of the ancient Romans," from L. Iupeter, from PIE *dyeu-peter- "god-father" (originally vocative, "the name naturally occurring most frequently in invocations" -Tucker), from *deiw-os "god" (see divine (adj.)) + peter "father" in the sense of "male head of a household." Cf. Gk. Zeu pater, vocative of Zeus pater "Father Zeus;" Skt. Dyauspita "heavenly father." The planet name is attested from c.1290. Jupiter Pluvius "Jupiter as dispenser of rain" was used jocularly from 1864.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

jupiter
To kill an IRC robot or user and then take its place by adopting its nick so that it cannot reconnect. Named after a particular IRC user who did this to NickServ, the robot in charge of preventing people from inadvertently using a nick claimed by another user.
[The Jargon File]
(1994-11-23)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Bible Dictionary

Jupiter

the principal deity of the ancient Greeks and Romans. He was worshipped by them under various epithets. Barnabas was identified with this god by the Lycaonians (Acts 14:12), because he was of stately and commanding presence, as they supposed Jupiter to be. There was a temple dedicated to this god outside the gates of Lystra (14:13).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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